The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO) is pleased to announce a new partnership with one of New York’s preeminent nonprofit theaters, Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). This partnership is designed to support the development of new musicals commissioned by MTC by providing invaluable space, time, and inspiration to develop these new works at the Hermitage.
This collaboration will provide an opportunity for some of the leading voices in musical theater to take the next step in advancing their creative process and vision. Through these commission-specific residencies, MTC and the Hermitage continue their commitment to supporting visionary artists and developing ambitious new work that reflect the richness, complexity, and diversity of contemporary storytelling.
The first two musicals commissioned through this initiative are The Orange Grove, by Lindsey Ferrentino and Sam Beam; and It’s All Relative, by Sofya Levitsky-Weitz and Benjamin Velez.
The Orange Grove, with a book by Lindsey Ferrentino and original music by Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), is a modern retelling of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. This new musical centers on a Florida orange grove on the brink of collapse. As one family fights over land, legacy, and the price of survival, the musical examines a century of American history through the lens of a changing nation and the people struggling to preserve what they hold dear. As part of their inaugural Hermitage-MTC Fellowship, Ferrentino and Beam recently presented a free program on the Hermitage Beach in Florida for hundreds of appreciative attendees.
It’s All Relative features a book by Sofya Levitsky-Weitz with music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez. This original musical spanning time and space asks what parts of ourselves we surrender, and what we discover, in pursuit of love. Einstein and his first wife and collaborator, Mileva Mari – a brilliant scientist in her own right – gather friends for a series of jam sessions exploring the nature of the universe and humanity’s place within it. Levitsky-Weitz and Velez’s Hermitage-MTC Fellowship and program will be scheduled for a future date.
“We are excited to be launching this collaboration with Manhattan Theatre Club,” said Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. “We are proud to be an incubator for new works across all artistic disciplines, with many notable musicals being developed right here on Manasota Key. As our friends at MTC deepen their commitment to commissioning new musicals, this partnership provides a meaningful development step on this journey for some of the leading composer, lyricists, and librettists of our time.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Hermitage to provide meaningful development opportunities to our commissioned musicals,” said MTC Artistic Director Nicki Hunter. “One of my hopes for MTC’s future is that we can continue to build upon our rich legacy as a home for new plays by also developing exciting world-premiere musicals. Being able to offer this group of talented artists the opportunity to develop these works at the Hermitage is particularly meaningful.”
MTC recently presented a newly reimagined version of Queens, by Hermitage Greenfield Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cost of Living was presented on Broadway by MTC. MTC and the Hermitage share many notable alumni, including two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Ruined), Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright David Auburn (Proof), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies (Brooklyn Boy), Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel(How I Learned to Drive), Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph (King James), and Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Lackawanna Blues), among others. Bess Wohl, whose Hermitage-developed play Liberation won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award, received this year’s Judith Champion Playwrighting Fellowship from MTC. Other notable artists who have received commissions from both the Hermitage and MTC include Chris Bush (Hermitage Major Theater Award), Madeleine George (Hermitage Major Theater Award), Aleshea Harris (Hermitage Greenfield Prize), Craig Lucas (Hermitage Major Theater Award), and Anne Washburn (Hermitage Major Theater Award).
Hermitage Artistic Director Andy Sandberg served as one of the assistant directors to legendary Broadway director Harold Prince on the original musical LoveMusik, starring Tony Award winners Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy; this was the first world premiere musical to be produced at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Broadway home.
Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) is a five-time Grammy Award nominated singer-songwriter. For over 20 years, Iron & Wine has captured the emotion and imagination of listeners with distinctly cinematic songs. Playwright, screenwriter, and director Lindsey Ferrentino returned to Broadway this spring with her second show of the season, The Fear of 13, starring two-time Academy Award winner Adrien Brody. Playwright, television, and film writer Sofya Levitsky-Weitz’s work includes FX’s The Bear and Hulu’s The Dropout. Benjamin Velez is a Tony Award-nominated composer and lyricist whose credits include Real Women Have Curves, The Tempest, Kiss My Aztec, and Borderline.
A leading national arts incubator, the Hermitage is the only major arts organization in Florida’s Gulf Coast exclusively committed to supporting the development and creation of new work across all artistic disciplines. The Hermitage hosts artists on its Gulf Coast Manasota Key campus for multi-week residencies, where diverse and accomplished artists from around the world and across multiple disciplines create and develop new works of theater, music, visual art, literature, dance, film, and more. As part of their residencies, Hermitage Fellows participate in free year-round community programs, offering audiences in the region a unique opportunity to engage with some of the world’s leading artists and to get an authentic “sneak peek” into extraordinary projects and artistic minds before their works go on to major galleries, concert halls, theaters, and museums around the world. These free and innovative programs include performances, conversations, readings, music concerts, interactive experiences, open studios, school programs, teacher workshops, and more, serving thousands in our regional community each year.